US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently declared the global rise in bond yields, driven by inflation concerns, to be “transient.” This comment, made after meetings in Tokyo, mirrors similar assertions from US Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell in 2021, when post-pandemic inflation proved more persistent than anticipated. Bessent’s effort to calm markets comes as America’s national debt nears US$40 trillion, with daily interest payments costing approximately US$3 billion, complicating government funding amid rising yields. [...]